Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

Making this traditional hollandaise sauce recipe will require that care is taken when cooking the eggs and heating the butter.

Tangy hollandaise sauce is used for fish, chicken, eggs, and vegetables. One of the most popular uses for hollandaise sauce is eggs benedict. When making this delicious sauce, the eggs must always be cooked slowly over a very low heat and the butter added gradually for success. To begin making your hollandaise sauce, cut a stick of butter into eight pieces. Then blend 3 egg yolks, 1\2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and a pinch of cayenne pepper in a stainless steel pan. If you do not have a stainless steel pan, you can also use one that is enamel or glass. Cook this mixture over a very low heat or in a double boiler, beating it with a whisk, mixer, or wooden spoon until the eggs are the consistency of heavy cream. Add butter pieces one at a time and continue beating the mixture until the sauce coats the beater thickly. Remove the mixture from the heat and continue to stir with a wooden spoon for at least one minute. Serve the sauce while it is still warm. This recipe will make about 1 1/4 cups.

If the sauce appears to be too thin, you can place one tablespoon of the sauce and a teaspoon of lemon juice in a warm bowl and beat it until it thickens. Then add it to the rest of the sauce 1\2 tablespoon at a time. In case the sauce curdles, remove it from the heat and whip in 1 tablespoon cold water. Do this a little at a time until the sauce smoothes. If this doesn't work, you can beat an egg yolk in a clean pan until it thickens and gradually add it to the curdled sauce until it is smooth. In most cases, hollandaise sauce should be served immediately, but it can be kept warm for up to one hour. Place the sauce over a pilot light or in a bowl of warm water and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the plastic wrap to rest on the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming. You can also make hollandaise sauce in a blender, but the taste and texture will be slightly different from the traditional sauce. To do this, melt one stick of butter in a sauce pan until bubbly. Add to your blend 3 egg yolks, 1\4 cup hot water, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1\2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Cover the blender and blend on high speed for three seconds; then remove the cover of the blender. Do not turn the blender off. Add the hot butter to the blending mixture very slowly and blend until thickened to the consistency of heavy cream. If you want to use your hollandaise sauce for tasty eggs benedict, you will need English muffins, eggs, and Canadian bacon. Warm one slice of the Canadian bacon on each muffin. Poach the eggs and place them yolk up on top of the Canadian bacon. Pour a generous amount of hollandaise sauce over the top of the egg. Sprinkle the top with paprika and add a sprig of parsley before serving.